Greenwood bank robber sentenced to 18 years in prison

GREENWOOD, S.C. (WSPA) – A man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for a bank robbery that happened in Greenwood last year.

A Troy man was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2018 robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank in Uptown Greenwood, 8th Circuit Solicitor David M. Stumbo said.

William Bryan Alexander, 50, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of entering a bank with intent to steal, first-degree assault and battery, and failure to stop for blue light.

Circuit Judge Letitia Verdin then sentenced Alexander to 18 years in prison on the bank robbery charge, 10 years in prison on the assault charge, and three years in prison on the failure to stop charge.

At about 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2018, Alexander walked into the Wells Fargo branch located at 105 Main Street in Uptown Greenwood and passed a note to the teller saying there was a bomb inside the bank and that he had the detonator, officials said.

The teller handed over more than $6K before Alexander fled the bank.

Police were immediately dispatched and spotted Alexander in a black Toyota Highlander fleeing the scene, according to the solicitor’s office.

Alexander led police on a chase down Cambridge Avenue and onto Old Ninety Six Highway where Alexander intentionally rammed a police vehicle multiple times, once directly in the driver’s side door.

Alexander was eventually located and arrested at a residence on Reedy Creek Road.

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